Spot basis bids for corn and soyabeans were steady around the interior US Midwest on Monday but dealers along rivers raised their soyabean bids amid falling shipping costs. Declining barge freight allowed river dealers to raise their soyabean bids because they had more cash to offer farmers for their crops.
But farmer selling of both commodities was slow on Monday despite soyabean prices that were as much as 11 cents per bushel higher after a futures market rally.
"I could not shake anything loose today," a dealer on the Illinois River said. Most producers were content to keep their crops in storage bins until they see the US Agriculture Department's report on planting intentions. The report, scheduled to be released on March 30, is expected to provide a gauge of price trends for the next few months.
Although farmer selling was slow, commercial elevators were booking heavy sales of soyabeans, a dealer at a processing plant in southern Illinois said. Elevators sold 300,000 bushels of soyabeans for delivery in March on Monday morning, the dealer said.
Barge freight was steady to weaker on Midwest rivers as the upper Mississippi River opened for navigation following the winter shutdown. Bids for barges were at 200 percent of tariff on the Mississippi River at St. Louis, a 15 percentage point drop from Friday's level. Barge bids dropped 5 percentage points to 275 percent of tariff on the Illinois River.
On the lower Ohio River, barge bids were steady at 230 percent of tariff. At the Chicago Board of Trade, the May corn futures contract closed down 1-1/2 cents at $3.98 per bushel. CBOT May soyabean futures rose 6 cents to $7.59-1/2 a bushel as soyabeans attempt to buy acres from corn ahead of planting season. The May wheat futures contract dropped 5-3/4 cents to close at $4.55 per bushel.